I think you have some insect/pest issue, guessing spider mites or scale. Hedera/ivy is the easiest plant indoors in the winter if you keep it warm and dry. And yes, environmental conditions such and dry heat, do encourage some pests.

I'd put good money on it being spider mites! For indoor ivy, the presence of spider mites is pretty much a foregone conclusion.....almost an inevitable occurrence, even with very experienced ivy growers :-) The white on the upper leaf surface is stippling or the patterning resulting from their tiny sucking little mouth parts and the dark specks on the underside is mite poop. The first is permanent and the second will wash off easily. I'd suspect there will also be some telltale webbing here and there as well.

The only way to keep spider mites at bay is to keep humidity high.....they dislike moisture. So spray the plant down when watering each time, either in the kitchen sink or bathtub. And maybe once or twice in between waterings as well now we are in winter and the plant does not have the same water requirements.

Neem oil is also a safe and moderately effective miticide and can be used as a soil drench if the problem should escalate.

isolate it from other plants ...

and dont spend 20 dollars on remedy.. if you can buy a new plant for 10 ... dont you think .. unless you just want the experience of dealing with it ...

you arent going to heal those leaves... so they will look like that until the fail and fall off ...

you could probably get a systemic bug product you apply to the media/soil.. which the plant sucks in.. and then kills all the problem .. make sure the label indicates it rated for indoor use ... and that it does work on mites ... [mites arent insects.. so some insecticides might not work on mites.. you would need a miticide ...]

but again.. youre might be spending money unwisely ...

and this is where you add.. its was great grandmas plant ... and you have to save it ... and if so.. prepare for battle ...

and dont forget .. dish soap is usually a detergent.. and we dont use detergent on plants ... though hort soaps are a possible remedy ....

ken

If you live in an area where English ivy can grow, then try it outdoors. You will not have to worry about it other than keeping it in bounds.

I had difficulty keeping ivy happy indoors in winter and yes, they seem to be a magnet to spider mites. I started growing them outside and they spread like their cousin English ivy but not as fast. After several years, I did have to take a weed whacker to several areas in the backyard to keep them somewhat manageable.

A competition between clumping mondo grass and one my latest ivies

the last one I bought that I kept indoors for two years and finally gave up on it and just let the tiny pot in a bigger empty pot for two years now. This one strand of it seems to have mutated from the original form.

in a big pot with florist azalea

Once it spills over a pot and hits the ground, it is running.

I think some of it is reverting back to its English ivy genetics.

Seems to behave itself in a pot but I should be more careful when it hits the ground.